Health Exchanges By The (Application) Numbers

The Obama administration reports that about 476,000 applications have been filed through federal and state health insurance online marketplaces but has not released how many people have actually enrolled in coverage.

The Associated Press/Washington Post: About 476,000 Applications Filed Through Obamacare Health Exchanges, Officials Say
Administration officials say about 476,000 health insurance applications have been filed through federal and state exchanges, the most detailed measure yet of the problem-plagued rollout of President Obama’s signature legislation. However, the officials continue to refuse to say how many people have actually enrolled in the insurance markets. Without enrollment figures, it’s unclear whether the program is on track to reach the 7 million people projecting by the Congressional Budget Office to gain coverage during the six-month sign-up period (Pace, 10/19).

NPR: Enrollments For The Health Care Exchanges Trickle In, Slowly
The Obama administration's hopes ran high that millions would flock to enroll for health insurance on state and federal exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act. Those exchanges went online Oct 1. The administration projected that half a million individuals or families would enroll within 30 days, according to the Associated Press. But three weeks in, the data suggest the actual number of enrollments is lagging far behind that number (Noguchi, 10/21).

Reuters: Nearly Half Million Apply For U.S. Health Insurance Despite Flaws: Officials
Roughly half a million Americans have applied for health insurance through new federal- and state-run exchanges under President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law, an administration official said on Saturday. That figure comes as problems with the federal marketplace's entry portal serving 36 states, the website Healthcare.gov, have thwarted consumers from shopping for federally subsidized health coverage and drawn derision from Republicans, who oppose the law, popularly known as Obamacare (Mason, 10/20).

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